Hoping to convince the US federal government to block websites it deems harmful to business, the RIAA has submitted its list of “notorious websites” with an especially notable version which includes a dig at the digital currency bitcoin.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), a lobby
group working for the benefit of the major record labels and
other heavyweights in the music industry, submitted the list with
the hope that the US Trade Representative (USTR) will block those
sites from the internet - or at least make them harder to access
for US users.

RIAA executive vice president Neil Turkewitz wrote that the
purpose of the list is “to expose businesses who operate
illegally, whether by profiting directly from the sale or other
distribution of illegal materials or from facilitating such
theft.”

The British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the RIAA’s counterpart
in the United Kingdom, also convinced the British High Court to
block 24 sites. The Pirate Bay, Kat, Torrent Reactor, and Extra
Torrent were among the “notorious” sites that will be blocked in
the UK starting Wednesday.

“Music companies are working hard to build a thriving digital
music sector in the UK, offering fans great convenience, choice
and value, but these efforts are undermined by illegal sites
which rip off artists and contribute nothing to Britain’s vibrant
music scene,” BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor told Forbes
magazine.

“We asked the sites to stop infringing copyright, but
unfortunately they did not and we were left with little choice
but to apply to the Court, where the judge considered the
evidence and declared that ISPs should not serve access to
them,” he continued.

Most of the sites in question provide downloadable links, or
torrents, which then redirect a user to a movie, music, video
game, or software file. Torrent sites make headlines far less
often than Google or Facebook, yet attract nearly as many users.
The Pirate Bay, for example, was the 72nd most visited website in
the world in October 2013.

“We highlight certain sites that are so central to the
activities of a particular society that they almost
single-handedly prevent the development of a legitimate online
music marketplace,” the RIAA’s Turkewitz said in a
statement.

“Others actively champion their supposed subversiveness by
proclaiming to be advocates for freedom of expression while
undermining the careers of creators whose very existence is based
on expression.”

The RIAA also mentioned the growing bitcoin currency as a service
contributing to copyright violation. Bitcoin is a decentralized
peer-to-peer currency transacted using secure digital wallets,
and is thus very difficult for law enforcement to track.

Seizing this opportunity, users have kept The Pirate Bay afloat
by donating bitcoin to the site. Law enforcement, unable to
freeze assets as it would have done if the donations were
received in standard funds, has had no choice but to continue
playing catch-up with the Swedish site’s current administrators -
even after the original founders were convicted of facilitating
infringement.

“The true operators of the site remain unknown,” the RIAA
wrote in its letter, as quoted by TorrentFreak. The convicted
individuals claim the site is owned by a company based in the
Seychelles, although no evidence has been provided.

“In April 2013, the site started accepting donations from the
public by Bitcoin, a digital currency, which operates using
peer-to-peer technology,” the statement continued. “There
is no central authority or banks involved which makes it very
difficult to seize or trade Bitcoin funds. In May 2013, the site
also started accepting Litecoin, another peer-to-peer based
internet currency.”

Observers have wondered if copyright enforcers, in trying to
undercut the “notorious websites,” have inadvertently supplied
them with potential customers.

“This list should not be understood to be comprehensive,”
wrote Michael O’Leary, vice president of the RIAA’s sister
organization, the MPAA. “It does, however, indicate the scope
and scale of global content theft and it introduces some of the
ongoing challenges rights holders confront in protecting their
intellectual property.”